April 24, 2008: Astronomy textbooks typically present galaxies as staid, solitary, and majestic island
worlds of glittering stars. But galaxies have a dynamical side. They have close
encounters that sometimes end in grand mergersREAD: Junior version of this articleLearn about this story in the Star Witness, a science newspaper available on our sister site, Amazing Space. and overflowing sites of
new star birth as the colliding galaxies morph into wondrous new shapes. Today, in
celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope's 18th launch anniversary, 59 views of
colliding galaxies constitute the largest collection of Hubble images ever released to the
public. This new Hubble atlas dramatically illustrates how galaxy collisions produce a
remarkable variety of intricate structures in never-before-seen detail.